A retired Englishman living in France with a penchant for long-distance hiking has taken it upon himself to establish friendly connections between the town of Le Crozet, France, (located about 50 miles southwest of Lyon) and Crozet, Virginia. Morris Jensen was hiking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, a network of trails in Europe that lead to the cathedral of St. James in Compostela, Spain, that is often hiked by religious pilgrims, and noticed that one spur of the trail was near Le Crozet, France. He was planning to hike the Appalachian Trail, too, (in fact he’s hiking it as you read this) and noticed that it passes very near another town named Crozet. Hmmm. Only one other location on the earth bears the name, namely the Crozet Islands, a remote, bleak archipelago of volcanic mounts in the deep southern Indian Ocean discovered by France in 1772 and named for one of the explorers, Jules Crozet.
Jensen approached the mayor of Le Crozet, Nicolas Chargueros, and looked for a respondent in Crozet, VA, eventually contacting your editor. The result is the first gestures of a relationship that both sides hope will mature into enduring exchanges and mutual understanding.
A watercolorist, Jensen painted a scene of Le Crozet’s village square, Mayor Chargueros autographed it, and it’s now on its way to Crozet to be presented to us. Jensen will present the painting to Crozet Librarian Hayley Thompkins on Saturday, May 25, at 3:30 p.m. in the library’s large meeting room. For the curious, he will also make a brief presentation about Crozet, France, though he is not personally a resident. He will be here just few days in order to paint a scene from our town to give on our behalf to Mayor Chargueros. From here, he heads to an exhibit of his work in Hillsboro, another town on the AT in Loudoun County. Jensen said he intends to be back in our area next year with his wife, Sylvie, who is also a painter.
Mayor Chargueros told Jensen that he has researched our town and is getting acquainted with us. Jensen has also heard from Patrice Desfonds, the principal of the town’s grammar school, about exchanges between our students and his. Crozet Elementary Principal Dr. Staci England is also aware of the opportunity. Another proposal is that local artists paint scenes of our towns and then exchange the exhibits. Consider the possibilities, mes amis.
